Unnumbered Files
by The Emerald Shapeshifter
Summary: After the failure of Xemnas's 'Master Plan', half of the Organization is left questioning his leadership. One certain redhead decides to put matters into his own hands, and all he needs is the Keyblade...and the Keyblade master's Nobody. COMPLETE!
1. Epilogue: Betrayel

**Unnumbered Files**

**A Kingdom Hearts Fanfiction**

* * *

In that lonely place…the _true_ world that never was, all **thirteen** of them remained. A Nobody had not the right to feel. A Nobody had not the right to remember. A Nobody hadn't even the right to _be_.

Yet there they remained. Alone. Together. They had failed in their quest to regain their old lives. _Here_, the Nobodies of _Organization XIII_ remained. All but one.

_This_ is where Nobodies were exiled. This is where they all ended up when slain with a _Keyblade_. This is where the infernal _chosen one_ of the Keyblade had gotten them into.

And the question is: Whose fault is it?

* * *

**Epilogue: Betrayal**

_A statement. The truth. "Heroes from the realm of light… I will not allow it to end this way—not yet. … If light and darkness are eternal, then surely we nothings must be the same—eternal."_

_A rebuttal. The belief. "You're right. Light and darkness are eternal. Nothing probably goes on forever, too. But guess what Xemnas?"_

_The reason. The denial of facts they wouldn't accept. "That doesn't mean _YOU'RE_ eternal!"_

_A chuckle. They couldn't accept it. If I weren't a Nobody, I would feel the smallest sliver of pity for the immense ignorance they held. "No more eternal than that radiance of yours…"_

* * *

Whispers all around.

"Dudes…they crossed the line."

"With the Superior down…nothing is okay."

"Kingdom Hearts has fallen."

"Roxas rejoined with Sora. Worse, he did so willingly. Ansem helped to destroy the Organization."

"It was doomed from the start."

"I don't think there's anything left to do, guys."

"If I get my hands on either the Keyblade's chosen one, or Ansem, I'll rip them apart!"

"Hey, is that the Superior over there?!"

He groaned and sat up, looking around. All around him was colorless mist, and he felt sand between his fingers. He looked up to come face-to-face with Xaldin, the third member of his team. The Whirlwind Lancer, as he was called, extended his hand.

"Superior," he said.

"Where are we?" Xemnas asked.

Xaldin looked to the other Organization members, who were standing in a semi-circle around Xemnas. "We're in the World That Never Was," Vexen explained.

"Or, should we say," Demyx corrected, in a voice not like his, "The World That Never Should Have Been."

"That's a mouthful," Axel said, crossing his arms.

"What happened to you all?" Xemnas demanded.

"Defeated by Sora," Xigbar said solemnly.

"Ditto," Xaldin said, pointing to Xigbar.

"Axel killed me," Vexen growled, glaring at Axel.

"Riku killed me!" Lexeaus yelled loudly.

"Taken out by the Riku Replica," Zexion said quietly.

"I was boldly defeated by the Keyblade's chosen one," Sïax muttered.

"Yes, I died," Axel said, turning to Xemnas. "I'm not so sure if I should tell you why."

"Sora was mean and tried to destroy my sitar," Demyx whined. "I was destroyed instead."

"The details were unclear at the moment," Luxord told him.

"I was defeated and sent here by Sora," Marluxia said in a monotone voice.

"_Sora_," Larxene spat.

Xemnas groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Axel looked around to all the faces of the Organization; all were glaring at him but a few. "Yes," he finally said. "It's all true. But, more than anything, know that it's your fault." He pointed an accusing finger at Xemnas.

"Why?" Xemnas was growing angry.

"Because we were fighting a losing battle," Axel retorted. "All Nobodies ally with whoever is the strongest," he continued, unknowingly quoting Sïax. "Obviously that was the Organization at our prime. But, now, see what your plan has led us all to, _Xemnas_?" He said the name like it pained him to. He gestured around him. "The Nobody's World. A world that should have never existed, but it does because Xehanort's stupid Heartless went around, stealing the hearts of the worlds!"

"How _dare_ you talk to your Superior like this!" Xemnas said, his face flushed.

"You're not my Superior," Axel shot back at him. "You formed the Organization by finding us all," he gestured to the eleven other Organization members, "and you only found us for a reason—like I said, Nobodies follow whoever is the strongest. At a time, that was you. But now it is in question. Are you the strongest, Xemnas…or is Sora? All the Nobodies we used to control are probably following Sora now, if he hasn't destroyed them!!"

"Axel, it would be wise to stop talking if you know what's good for you!" Xemnas said, but for the first time, his voice lacked confidence.

"I agree with Axel," a quiet voice said. Everyone turned to Lexeaus, who was quiet for once. "I, for one, am tired of following you like a lost sheep, Superior—I mean, Xemnas."

"We joined the Organization because we all had one common goal—to become whole again, to regain our hearts," Xigbar said, crossing his arms and nodding. "You're plan was to get our hearts back, Xemnas, using Kingdom Hearts. Even I thought your plan was pretty great…until now. This is what's become of us all. And it's all thanks to you, _Xemnas_."

"It was a lost cause," Marluxia said. "Right from the start."

"Long story short," Axel announced, "I'm not taking orders from you anymore, Xemnas." Here he paused, grinning as flames began to spin around his fingers, his chakrams forming. Only then did Xemnas notice that the mist that was obscuring everyone finally lifted, revealing their bodies.

Axel wasn't wearing the ominous black cloak of the regular Organization members. He was wearing an outfit that formed to his body, instead of a loose cloak. It was dark red, mostly, with lighter red lines tracing along his arms and legs. The cuffs of his sleeves and the ends of his pants were the only loose-fitting part of the whole outfit, cut on two sides. His boots and gloves were bright red. But, more than anything, Xemnas noticed the design on his chest.

It was an amalgamation of the symbol on every artificially-made Heartless and the symbol on every Nobody.

He turned to look at everyone else. He could now see that Demyx, Xigbar, Luxord, Lexeaus, Marluxia and Larxene were wearing the same type of outfit as Axel, only in colors more fitting for each person. And behind Xemnas, there was Xaldin, Vexen, Zexion and Sïax, wearing the long black cloaks. He wondered whose side they were on now.

"What compelled you all to betray me?" Xemnas wondered.

"Simple," Xigbar said, spreading his arms grandly. "Kingdom Hearts still exists. Our hearts are still there."

"As such," Luxord said, "we are commandeering the reputation of Organization XIII. Which, as you may now understand, no longer exists."

"We're going to take back what's ours," Demyx said, throwing a fist into the air.

"At any cost," Lexeaus finished.

Xemnas started laughing. It was more jovial than his normal flat laugh, as Axel just glared at him. "You expect me to believe that you could ever accomplish what I never could have done? Is that it? Then why did you agree to join Organization XIII? What could _you_ Nobodies ever accomplish?"

"All we had to do to get out of here was wait for you, Xemnas," Axel told him. "You're going to let us out of here."

At that, Xemnas began to laugh again, but it was more of a chuckle this time. "You want me to let you back into the true realms?"

Axel nodded.

"And what if I say no?"

"Demyx," Axel said, turning to the water-controlling Nobody, ignoring Xemnas's query. "Remember that _awesome_ song you made before you faced Sora? What did you call it?"

Demyx understood completely and held out a hand, water dripping from his fingers as his sitar formed in his hand. As Demyx lifted it up to begin playing, Xemnas saw that the instrument was more broken up than he remembered.

Demyx bowed over his sitar, and said in a small voice, "I call this song, 'Overcoming'."

He began to play slowly, and Xemnas noticed in alarm that everyone took a few steps back to that the closest Nobody to Demyx was Xemnas. Xemnas tried to take a step back, but as the music change from slow to fast, he found himself unable to move. Xemnas's hand lifted against his will, and he felt the power that was under his control surge without his consent. A portal appeared in front of him, and as Demyx stopped playing, Xemnas was shoved to the ground as the magic of the Melodious Nocturne released him.

"Nice job Demyx!" Xigbar said, giving him a thumbs up.

Demyx gave an exaggerated bow. "Thank you, thank you very much."

Axel walked up to the portal and turned back to Xemnas, saying, "You're welcome to join our _new_ Organization, if you wish."

With that, he stepped through the portal, with Luxord, Demyx, Xigbar, Lexeaus, Marluxia and Larxene in tow.

Xaldin, Vexen, Zexion and Sïax approached Xemnas and helped him up. Larxene and Marluxia stood behind them. "We are still loyal to you, Superior," Sïax said simply. The four bowed.

"Where are they going?" Xemnas asked.

"Probably to take Kingdom Hearts by force," Zexion admonished. "But knowing Axel, there's one other person he needs to find…"

"Roxas," all five said together.

"So, what do we do, Superior?" Sïax turned to Xemnas.

"We stop them," Xemnas said with authority. "If anyone's taking Kingdom Hearts, it's going to be us."

Xemnas held a hand up and opened another portal, with some difficulty, as it seemed opening even one actually drained him if all his power in this world.

"I failed the Organization once," he said. "This time, I will not fail again."

* * *

Xemnas, stop making promised you can't keep! He never learns, does he?

Poor Xemnas, he's getting surprises from every which way.

Please let me know if any facts are wrong. This is my first KH fanfiction, so no flames.

By the way, I'm a Demyx fan. GO DEMY!


	2. Preperations

**Unnumbered Files**

* * *

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts© or SquareEnix©**

* * *

**Chapter II: Preparations**

Sora looked to the medium-sized, elegant mirror adorning one wall of his room in his house on the Destiny Islands. It was made with the combined magic of King Mickey and the Kingdom Key—a special mirror only for the use of those who had recovered from turning into a Heartless.

A mirror that could show you your Nobody, and vice versa.

Everyone on Destiny Islands knew of his adventure, but none knew about Roxas. He was debating whether to tell them, but he told himself it wouldn't be a good idea to tell everyone that he had been a Heartless and his Nobody was evil and joined Organization XIII. He had had enough to deal with. He looked deep into the mirror again, and as he concentrated, his reflection wavered. He saw a figure seem to walk up from behind him in the mirror's reflection, but the figure took up his own reflection. Roxas grinned at him.

"So, Roxas, I have an audience with King Mickey," Sora announced. "He requested I come to his castle. I need to look my best; the message he sent sounded very important."

The mirror shone as Roxas spoke. _"So, what did he say?"_ the Nobody asked.

"You know what he said. Just 'There is a problem I need your help with'."

"_Well, no_ _duh he needs your help,"_ Roxas said. _"But that didn't sound very urgent. It could be anything he needs your help with. Any menial labor."_

"We're talking about the King," Sora told him. "It's not like he needs my help organizing his books."

Roxas got into a dramatic pose and pointed at him. _"You don't know that. I've seen your memories of Queen Minnie's library; that place is _huge_!"_

Sora laughed. "If that's what he wants, then I say that's a waste of my talents."

Roxas coughed. _"What talent?"_

"Shut up."

"_What if Organization XIII is back?"_

Sora rolled his eyes as he tried to pick out a suitable outfit. "Yeah, right. I kicked Xemnas's butt; he's never coming back."

"_From my short time in the Organization, I learned things you never learned, not even in all your fights with their flunkies. Xemnas and the rest of the Organization or more powerful than they let on."_ Roxas looked at him and their eyes locked.

"Yeah… Uh…" Sora held up an outfit. "What do you think about this one?"

"_Too bold,"_ Roxas observed. _"You're visiting the King; you're not trying to out-do him clothes-wise."_

"It it really that bold? What about the outfit the fairies made for me before I started my journey?"

"_That old thing? Give it a break; wear something casual. Hey! What about my outfit? It's sort of formal, but still nice."_

"Yeah!" Sora said with mock excitement. "Why don't you go into your closet, change into something else, and give me your outfit?"

"…_You don't have to be hurtful,"_ Roxas said in a small voice after a moment.

"I was _joking_; come on, don't Nobodies have a sense of humor?"

"_How about getting the fairies to make an outfit like you wore on your first adventure, but your size now?"_ Roxas said, ignoring the insult that was completely intended._ "It says, _'Hey, King Mickey! Remember me?'_."_

"Good idea! So…"

"_So what?"_

"Axel said something to me before he died," Sora remembered. "He said how you were his only friend or something. What's that all about?"

"_Axel was never truly with the Organization, in my opinion. Neither was I, but hey. He was one of my best friends in the Organization. He knew I was the one to break free and betray them. He told me it was about time someone did, but he didn't have the courage to do so until you were in trouble. I'm glad Ansem gave me my memories back; I remember him being worried about me when I was captured and placed in the virtual Twilight Town."_

"But Axel's a Nobody," Sora pointed out. "They can't feel…right?"

Roxas looked down to his hands, as if they had asked the same question. _"One would think,"_ was all he said.

* * *

"Sora! The train's here!" Riku's voice echoed through the room.

"I'm coming!" Sora struggled into his new outfit, falling to the ground trying to get his leggings on. He finally got them on, and shot out of the room to where the mystical train was waiting, with Riku and Kairi already inside.

Kairi groaned. "Sora, your hair looks horrible!"

"_Thanks_," he said, glaring at her. He felt his hair with his hands; it didn't seem messy to him as he looked into the window of the bus to see his reflection.

"Yeesh, did you even brush it?"

"Um…no…" As she glared again, he said in his defense, "Well, I had to wait for the fairies to make me a new outfit!"

"You could've done your hair while you were waiting," she said with a grin.

He opened his mouth to say something, then, realizing he was cornered, he closed it and said nothing.

"You seem to be asking Roxas's opinion about a lot of stuff lately," Riku acknowledged, slightly inclining his head.

"Yeah, and your point?" Sora asked.

"Why don't you just let him fade away?"

"Why should I? He's me. We're the same person; the fact that he's a Nobody shouldn't change how he's treated. It's like racism if you're saying Nobodies shouldn't exist. Well, maybe they _shouldn't_, but he _does_ exist and you can't change that. It doesn't give you the right to demean him."

"Okay, okay, sorry dude," Riku said quickly. "Goodness, Sora. Why so defensive?"

Finally, the train took off on magical track into the stars.

"Defensive? Why? Maybe because I'm mad, and Roxas deserves better treatment than what the Organization and Ansem gave him. That's why I talk to him a lot. He never got a chance to; I want him to live. Ansem decided to suddenly take everything away from him without any explanation as to why."

"He had a reason, though."

"He never told Roxas that, though." And

"I agree," Kairi interjected. "After Naminé restored Sora's memories, instead of thanking her, apparently Ansem tried to get rid of her." She crossed her arms. "Ansem the _Dumb_ is more like it."

"Hey, don't—" Riku started to say.

"Don't get mad at us; you don't have a Nobody," Sora retorted.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Riku said, getting annoyed. He put his elbow on the arm rest of his chair and put his chin in his hand.

* * *

Axel and the others came out in the World That Never Was. Their first order of business was to go back to the Castle That Never Was and get the others' weapons; the only reason Demyx and Axel still had theirs was because Demyx wouldn't part with his sitar, even in death (or whatever happened to him when Sora defeated him), and Axel absorbed his special chakrams into himself when he preformed the suicide attack to save Sora from the Nobodies; that kept them with him into the Nobody's World.

Axel groaned and put a hand to his forehead, grinding the palm of his hand into it.

"What's wrong?" Demyx asked. The water-controlling Nobody held onto his sitar with reverence; like he'd die if he were separated from it.

"Xemnas is probably going to get out of there," Axel answered. "He has the power, as I just showed him. The others we left behind are probably going to help him, too."

"But that's not it, is it?" Sometimes Demyx was smarter than he let on.

"No. It's Roxas. Demyx, with him we could take Kingdom Hearts. With him, we could finally become whole again. But he's already become whole again; he's got Sora."

"Don't be such a crybaby," Demyx told him. "I doubt Sora would be happy to see the rest of us…" he looked back to see the others glaring at him, "…but if you face him alone, I doubt he'd attack you after helping him."

"Eh," was all Axel said.

"We made you leader," Xigbar said, pushing him gently, but hard enough to make him stumble a bit. "Better not mess this up for us."

"Don't worry," Axel said with a wink. He turned to Luxord. "Luxord, I have a _special_ task for you…" He gave the gambler a card. A card the flame-controlling Nobody had kept secret from Xemnas ever since he had acquired it.

A look of surprise flashed on Luxord's face, but he quickly concealed it as he looked at Axel. "Where did you get this?" he demanded, though he sounded more surprised than mad.

"When you have the _Assassin_ Nobodies under your control, a lot of things open up to you," Axel replied ominously.

Luxord shot him another quick look, then looked down to the card as the others crowded around. With a sigh, the Gambler of Fate then held the card up to the stars and closed his eyes.

* * *

_Roxas had receded deep into Sora's mind, in a place his mind could think in peace with Sora's consciousness. Roxas had the innate sense to tell when another Nobody was near; all Nobodies had the ability. For a while now, all he'd been able to sense was Naminé, always close by. But now, he sensed someone else._

Axel…?_ he thought to himself. _And Demyx, Xigbar… Uh… Marluxia, Larxene…_ He paused, trying to remember their names. _Lexeaus and Luxord, that's right. Where're the others?

_As he wondered this, he thought of something else. _Wait, why are they here? There? Wherever?

_His eyes snapped open as he got a view of Luxord. The smooth-talking gambler was holding up a card—Roxas didn't like the looks of that. He started to panic, and the feeling began to seep into Sora's mind. The Keyblade master would feel only slight panic from Roxas's influence, but he would not know why._

* * *

Sort of a short chapter. It should pick up. :D


	3. Fear, Anxiety, and Hate

**Unnumbered Files**

* * *

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts© or SquareEnix©**

* * *

**Chapter III: Fear, Anxiety, and Hate**

"Sora, what's wrong?"

Sora jumped. His body felt stiff from sitting down for so long. "Huh?"

"You're sweating," Riku pointed out. "Are you nervous?"

"I don't know why I feel nervous," Sora admonished.

Kairi shrugged; none of them knew.

"Well, you're the Keyblade master," Riku guessed. "Maybe in times of peace you're prone to weird mood swings." He gave an exaggerated shrug.

"I'm not a girl!" Sora shot back, gaining a slap on the face from Kairi.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Sora grinned sheepishly and held up his hands. "Nothing, nothing, I swear!"

Finally, the train stopped in the Gummi hanger of King Mickey's castle. They got out, looking around. Usually Chip and Dale would be there to greet them.

This time, the place was eerily empty.

They crept out of the door to the Gummi hanger into the gardens, noting how empty everything was.

"King Mickey? Queen Minnie?" Sora called out. No response.

Riku popped him lightly in the chin. "Sssssshhh!" he hissed. "If there are Heartless or Nobodies here, they'll hear you!"

The three searched around; Sora, on instinct, brought out the Kingdom Key. His hand gripped lightly around the handle.

Suddenly, his vision turned dark. A second after he lost sight, he was hit in the back of the head, sending him reeling, and causing the Kingdom Key to fly out of his hand, despite his attempt to grip it harder.

He fell flat on his face on, not grass, but sand. The sounds of Riku fighting an enemy faded, as all he could hear was a hallowed breeze. Hi sight did not return, but he shakily stood up and lifted his hands to his face. He didn't feel hurt, and he wasn't. His sight was just…_gone_.

He stumbled around, trying to feel for a wall, a bush…_something_ he could use to get his bearings and find someone who could help him.

He didn't find someone. Someone found him.

"'Ello, Roxas," a voice said.

Involuntarily, his muscles moved, and he spun around to where he thought the voice had come from.

"What the—" he began to say, but was cut off as he was knocked down.

"Silence! I am here to talk to Roxas, not _you_."

"What do _you_ want?" he heard the voice of Roxas sound in the empty space, echoing.

"You know clear and well what I want, Roxas," the voice answered. Sora had heard this person once, but he couldn't place the name or a face in his mind.

"Yeah, _I_ do, but why don't you tell Sora here?"

The owner of the voice huffed. "Why should I? He's one of them."

The voice began talking too fast and too low for Sora to hear what he was saying, and he thought it was another language. The voice of Roxas responded the same way.

Sora rolled over to get on his hands and knees and fumbled around the sand with his hands, trying to find where 'Roxas' was standing. "Roxas? Roxas, what's going on? Who's there?"

Roxas didn't answer.

Sora grew angry. With a yell, he jumped up and charged forward, hoping with all his heart that he would tackle whoever the mysterious voice belonged to.

He didn't. Something had tripped him, and he fell to the ground again.

There was a strange sound, and a different voice yelled, "Enough! You've served your purpose."

Sora thought the voice meant him, but there was the strange sound again. The first mysterious voice never spoke again after that.

Someone placed a hand on his head. "C'mon, Roxas. Together we can take Kingdom Hearts."

Sora grit his teeth.

"You know it's inevitable. You know I can do it. But you hold the piece that unlocks the Door."

Sora's useless eyes widened and he growled. He also recognized that voice, and he knew who it was. The hand tapped him on the side of his head. "Think about it."

The hand grabbed his own and pulled him to his feet; a little too hard, for it sent him stumbling in one direction.

Then, he could see again, but with a blinding flash of light, his surroundings changed.

* * *

"Sora? Sora, can you hear me?"

"Why isn't he responding?"

"He can't hear you; his will is being controlled by another. We need to get him out of this stance before something hurts him."

Sora groaned and slowly sat up, looking around. He panicked as he realized he couldn't see anything. He felt his head with his hands.

"Sora, you're awake!" It was Kairi.

"Am I blind?" he asked.

"No," Riku's voice assured him. "But your eyes _are_ closed."

Sora laughed awkwardly and opened his eyes, blinking to fight back the unexpected blurriness. "W-What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," a voice said. Sora looked to his right to see His Majesty, King Mickey, standing next to him. He realized he was lying on a cleared-off table in the library of the castle. The King was looking at him with kind, but apprehensive, eyes. "Apparently, Riku and Kairi said you were caught off-guard by the Nobodies."

"The Nobodies?"

"Yes. There were four: A Sniper, an Assassin, a Gambler, and a Dancer. Riku told me the Assassin hit you in the back of the head and knocked you out; the Nobodies tried to make an escape with you."

"They tried to kidnap me?" Sora asked, incredulous.

"Indeed."

"What kinds did you say they were?"

King Mickey looked at him as if he were crazy, and said, "A Dancer, an Assassin, a Gambler, and a Sniper Nobody. One of each. Why?"

"The Dusks and the Creepers are the most basic Nobodies," Sora reminded them. "The more powerful ones—including those three—should have been destroyed when I defeated Xemnas."

Silence permeated the room. Mickey looked anxious, Riku's feelings about the realization weren't clear by looking at his face, and Kairi looked just plain scared.

"Are you saying Xemnas is still alive?" she asked.

"Of course he is still 'alive'," Mickey told them. "He's just in the Nobody's Realm; a world that, like the Nobodies, should not exist."

Sora reached for the Kingdom Key, but fumbled and started to panic as he realized it wasn't with him. "Where's the Keyblade!?"

Mickey looked down, and Riku said, "The Nobodies took it. I'm sorry, Sora."

"They _took the Keyblade_?!" Sora was mentally breaking down; not only was the giant key the only defense he had against the Nobodies, the Kingdom Key had been with him since he left Destiny Islands on his first adventure. And, of course, he had the bright (but now, it seemed stupid) to imbue the Kingdom Key with the powers and properties of all the other Keyblades, so he could change it's form at will. Now he had virtually no weapons.

"That's why I wanted you three to come here," Mickey explained. "Organization XIII has escaped from the Nobody's Realm."

Sora was feeling dizzy. _Yeesh!_ he thought with dismay. _I just woke up from a life and death encounter, and he's telling me all this?_

He put a hand to his head. "How?"

"Xemnas is the only one who would, at his full power, be able to escape the Realm," Mickey told him. "But he's not with the group that attacked you, otherwise we should've seen a Sorcerer Nobody."

"Then what's going on?" Kairi asked.

_I'll tell ya what's goin' on,_ a voice said in Sora's head. _Organization XIII has disbanded._

_Roxas?_ Sora raised an eyebrow. _Disbanded?_

_While you were unconscious, you were confronted mentally by Luxord._

_Luxord?_ Sora's mind automatically showed him an image of the gambler Luxord, smooth-talking, always with a word to confound and outwit his enemy.

_Yes, the gambler,_ Roxas's voice confirmed. _He has somehow managed to get his hand on a card with your picture on it; deadly for you in the hands of a magical gambler like you. That's why you temporarily went blind._

_But how'd they get out?_

Roxas was silent for some time. _That would be easier for one of them to answer._

_What do we do then?_

Roxas seemed to laugh. You're _the Keyblade's chosen one. I'm just a Nobody. You tell me._

Then he didn't speak.

* * *

Xemnas had fallen to his knees as they came out in Port Royal; in his time of desperation, he didn't care where they would end up, as long as it was out of that accursed prison realm. He could never remember feeling as weak as he felt now. It felt as if all of his power was virtually gone. He hated it.

He turned to the only members of the Organization that were still loyal to him—Xaldin, Vexen, Zexion, and Saïx. He looked to his hands, then, as the voice of Saïx broke the silence.

"We have our power, Superior." Saïx held out his hand, and with a twist of his wrist, his berserker claymore appeared in his hands. Xaldin extended his arms, and six tornados appeared to reveal his six lances. Zexion merely crossed his arms. Snowflakes and ice shards filled the air around Vexen as his shield materialized.

Saïx continued: "Whatever happens, we'll be by your side."

"Why is my power…gone?" Xemnas asked, trying to sound angry.

"You've always believed power came from rage, and hate," Vexen explained. "Now, without those emotions, you're powerless."

"But I _am_ angry!" Xemnas roared.

"No, you're not," Zexion said firmly.

Xemnas turned to him, about to deny him, but then, he realized the Cloaked Schemer was correct. He wasn't mad. Disoriented, maybe. Confused, yeah. But not angry. He just didn't know what to do. He was never one to be without a plan.

"Your call," Xemnas said to Saïx.

Suddenly, the sound of a portal opening echoed through the air, all five turned around to see a figure in the clothes of Axel's new Organization, with the hood up. The outfit was a pale yellow and a darker, almost orange, yellow, to they had a good idea of who it was.

"Larxene," Xaldin said what they were all thinking. "I would only assume that Axel would send you here to try to eliminate us."

The figure removed the hood, revealing it to be, indeed, Larxene. She grinned. "I'm not here to 'eliminate' you," she said, emphasizing the word 'eliminate' with air quotes. Her grin didn't falter as she held up her hand, but contrary to her last statement, her daggers were between her fingers. "I'm here to watch you squirm."

She snapped the fingers of her other hands, and in grey flashes, dozens of Nobodies appeared. They all surrounded Xemnas and the others. They were of different varieties, about 6 of each kind, aside from Dusks and Creepers. There were Assassins, Dancers, Gamblers, and Snipers, but there were also Berserkers, Dragoons, Samurais and Sorcerers. There were a few of new varieties Xemnas had never seen.

"Hey!" Saïx yelled. He pointed to one of the Berserker Nobodies. "I command the Berserker Nobodies!" He didn't know why he was being so clingy to the mindless Nobodies—maybe he was mad that his rightful place in the Organization had been ripped away.

"Just like the Heartless," Larxene said, "the Nobodies also ally with whoever is strongest." She pointed to the Nobodies, who were moving around, not taking their sights of the ones they surrounded. "This is obvious proof you were never meant to be."

She held up her hands, and the other Nobodies grew still. The only ones that were moving—aside from Xemnas and the others—were one of the odd-looking new breeds. They had huge claws on their hands, made to look like Larxene's knives, and their teeth were small, but long and very sharp looking as they sat in a long jaw. It seemed like a horribly mutated version of a Dusk, made to be all teeth and claws. Xemnas, as he studied the creatures, realized that they must have made these Nobodies to compensate with Larxene's not having any. Their feet were like the hands of a Creeper, with the Organization emblem on each foot. On the back of their heads was a long hair-like thorn; it was a pale grey, but the tips were blue

"If you're going to use those sad excuses for Nobodies," Vexen said, "then why'd you bring all the others?" He pointed to the still Nobodies.

"They're here to watch," Larxene said, as if it were obvious.

"Watch what?"

"The power of the Keyblade formed new Nobodies," Larxene said. She motioned to the strange-looking ones. "These are my Stiletto Nobodies."

"Very impressive," Xemnas muttered, "but a bit overdone, don't you think, Number XII?"

A flash of anger entered Larxene's eyes, but she quickly hid it. She snapped her fingers, and all the lesser Nobodies vanished, save for three of her Stilettos.

"I believe I've gathered a very nice little tidbit of information," Larxene said, smirking, spreading her arms grandly. "The mighty Xemnas, Nobody of Xehanort, whose Heartless first unveiled Kingdom Hearts, is now powerless." She laughed. "I bet Axel would love to know."

If Xemnas still had his power, he would have killed Larxene on the spot.

"Axel sent me to give you something."

With a snap of her fingers, her Nobodies vanished and reappeared to surround Xemnas and the others. The hair-like thorn on the back of the Stilettos' heads spread out to form a fan behind their heads, as if they were about to attack. They spread their claws in perfect unison.

Vexen held out his shield, Saïx brandished his claymore, and Xaldin's lances swirled around him. Larxene snickered as her daggers appeared in her other hand, and came face-to-face with Zexion.

"You sure you want to fight me, emo boy?" Larxene taunted, knowing Zexion hated when people called him that.

"When I'm done with you," Zexion said, his voice quivering with hate, "you're going to wish you stayed in that lonely Nobody's World, broken and fading."

Though Larxene would never admit it, Zexion's tone always cut into her when he spoke when he was angry. It was a tone that said: 'I'm not lying.'

Zexion calmly held out a hand as Larxene readied her daggers.

The Cloaked Schemer smirked below his hood.

* * *

"I need to go after them," Sora decreed. "I need the Keyblade back."

"And how are you going to get it back without a weapon?" Riku asked, folding his arms. "Say, 'Hey, Axel and his new Organization. Yeah, um, I need the Keyblade back, so if you would be so kind as to return it, I can be on my way!'?" He smirked. "Yeah, right."

"I get it," Sora growled.

"Maybe you could attack them with your über-spiky hair," Riku suggested, poking one of the spikes fashioned in Sora's hair.

"Not funny Riku!"

Riku snickered.

"Maybe I could get some advice from Yen Sid," Sora said thoughtfully.

"That's a start," Mickey said. "The train is waiting outside to take you to his castle."

Sora nodded and stood up, wincing and placing a hand behind his head, which still hurt after getting hit.

_Sora,_ Roxas's voice said quietly.

_What?_ Sora queried.

_Going to Yen Sid's is going to be a waste of your time,_ Roxas informed him. _I think Axel and the others have already turned him into a Heartless._

Sora groaned.

_So, don't go there. You're not without a weapon. Look behind you._

Sora did as he was told, and his mouth opened in shock. Lying on the table he had been recuperating on, were the two Keyblades Oathkeeper and Oblivion. They overlapped to form an X with the two blades.

The look on Riku's face was one of a person who just saw a ghost—or, in this case, two giant keys appearing from thin air. Mickey didn't look too surprised, and Kairi looked as if she were about to cry.

Sora picked Oathkeeper up. _Where'd you get _these_?_ he asked Roxas.

_They're _my_ Keyblades,_ Roxas said angrily, his tone surprising Sora. _You wanna use them or not?_

_Yeah, I do,_ Sora said, brandishing Oathkeeper and swinging it around.

_Ah, ah, ah,_ Roxas scolded. _You use Oathkeeper, you gotta use Oblivion, too._

_I'm not used to fighting with two Keyblades. One's enough._

_No!_ Roxas's voice reverberated inside his skull. _Use both._

Sora finally took Oblivion into his right hand. He felt amazed at how light they both were, but he felt their power pulsing through his veins. He automatically thought of Riku and Kairi.

"Where'd those come from?" Riku asked, still a little shocked.

Sora grinned. "Roxas is letting me borrow them."

He spun the two Keyblades around, awed at how fluid he was with them. He got into a battle pose, and then smirked at Riku.

"Let's go get my Keyblade back."

Wow, I looked to see which chapter this was when I was done, and I said, "Wow, still chapter three?" I would've gone on, but this chapter is too long. Time for the next one!


	4. Retribution

**Unnumbered Files**

* * *

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts© or SquareEnix©**

* * *

**Chapter IV: Retribution**

"AGH!"

"Stupid key!"

"Ow, my head!"

"Tie it down, someone!"

"On it!"

The cries of the members of the Citadel (which was Axel's name for their new Organization) echoed through the Castle That Never Was as the Keyblade struck back of its own accord. Even without Sora, the Keyblade was a formidable force. The giant key flew around striking every Nobody and Heartless that came its way. With one strike of the Keyblade, each one was destroyed.

"Dance, water, _dance_!" Demyx started playing his sitar, and his water clones bounced up to try to grab the Keyblade. The key swiped at them, but it merely rippled the water the clones were made of.

Finally the odd-looking water clones managed to pin the Keyblade down, where several Nobodies jumped on top of it. Axel reached into the pile and pulled the Keyblade out.

"Finally…" he muttered. He held on with inhuman strength to the Keyblade as the giant key twitched. He struggled to get it into special metal clamps on a table they had prepared, and the clamps held tightly onto the Keyblade.

"Stupid key," Lexeaus grumbled, rubbing a bump on his forehead. "Nearly gave me a concussion."

"Don't worry!" Demyx said grandly, striking a pose with his sitar. "I took care of it!"

Xigbar rolled his eyes. "Any news from Larxene? She should've been back by now, with—"

Suddenly, a door slammed open and in walked Larxene. She was actually limping, and looked as if she were about to collapse. Her Stiletto Nobodies sauntered in after her.

"You okay, Larxene?" Axel asked.

"I'm fine," she hissed. "Only Zexion beat the crap out of me."

Demyx laughed. "You were beaten by emo boy?"

"That's exactly why he beat me up," Larxene shot back.

"Did you get what we sent you for?" Marluxia asked, crossing his arms.

Larxene nodded, and one of her Nobodies walked forth, holding something out for Axel to take.

Saïx's claymore.

"Ha ha!" Axel cheered, grabbing the large weapon, grunting at its weight. "How in the world does Saïx lift this thing?"

Larxene sank into a chair. "I couldn't get Xaldin's spears or Vexen's shield. Or even Zexion's lexicon. Has anyone even _seen_ Zexion's weapon?"

Mutters of 'nope' and 'no' sounded.

"Well, all I got was the claymore. One of you imbeciles will have to get the others' weapons. Just don't mess with Zexion; he's a pissed emo boy."

"Gotcha!" Demyx said happily. "I'll handle them!" He opened a dark portal, but before he left, he turned to Larxene. "Hey, what happened to Saïx anyway?"

"The Luna Diviner?" Larxene sneered. She waved her hand and balled it into a fist. "I doubt he's much of a threat anymore without his claymore." She cackled in a way that would make even the old Xemnas shiver.

Demyx nodded and grinned in spite of the situation. "I'll bet that by the time I get back, I'll have Vexen's precious shield!" he beamed. Then, he left.

"I bet you fifty bucks Demyx won't come back with anything," Xigbar immediately said to Axel.

* * *

"So, you're _not_ going to Yen Sid's?" Kairi asked, genuinely confused.

"Nah," Sora said. He decided it would be best not to tell them Roxas assumed he was already a Heartless. He felt a pang of guilt for leaving his friends in the dark (not literally in Riku's case).

"Roxas is a Nobody, Sora," Mickey said, crossing his arms. "Sooner or later, he's going to fade away, or regain his consciousness."

"Over my dead body," Sora said, referring to the fading away part.

"And maybe that's what Axel and the others are trying to do," Riku rebuked. "To get Roxas and you angry enough so you'll split."

"Split?" Sora said. "We're not fused together, Riku."

"You're, like, best friends with Roxas now. Why? A while back, you didn't even know who and _what_ he was!"

"Oh, you're one to talk, _Ansem_," Sora ground out. "Maybe I'm talking to Roxas—_still_—because your 'master' Ansem the Wise was so rude to him. He told me everything; how he was using Roxas to get to the Organization and Naminé to help my memories return. What did he plan to do when I woke up, _huh_? Throw Naminé and Roxas away? Like garbage? Huh?"

Riku's face grew red with anger. He started to talk back, but suddenly caught himself.

"Whatever, Riku," Sora's voice cut into his head. "I'm going alone."

With that, he left the Library and slammed the large door shut, a resounding _thud!_ echoing through the large room.

"He's so protective of Roxas!" Riku shouted. "Why?"

"I caught a little bit of the conversation he and Roxas had before he gave Sora the Keyblades," Mickey said knowingly. "Roxas suspects that Yen Sid has been turned into a Heartless." Kairi gasped. "And, before you came here, Roxas had the strange ability to sense where the other Organization members are. He still has it. And Sora—"

"So Sora's using him as a bloodhound," Riku finished, cutting Mickey off.

"No, they're helping each other, I think," Roxas to help Sora find the Organization, and Sora to help Roxas—"

"Feel alive," a familiar voice said.

Mickey and Riku looked over to Kairi, who was looking into a mirror on the wall. It looked exactly like the one in Sora's room on Destiny Island, and in the mirror they could see Naminé's faint figure.

"Never in history since Heartless first became known has a Nobody ever felt _anything_," Naminé explained. "Roxas can feel through Sora. Sora's not prejudice against Nobodies. At least, not Roxas."

"And you're saying _I_ am?" Riku asked.

"Well, yes, from my point of view," Naminé said, nodding.

"Naminé, what do you think we should do?" Kairi asked her Nobody.

"Sora's going to need your help soon," was all she said. "Revenge is a powerful force."

* * *

They heard his voice before they saw the portal opening. "_I'm back!_"

"Demyx," Marluxia groaned, putting a hand to his head.

Demyx strode out of the open portal, looking gleeful and excited waving his hands over his head, and not in the least bit injured.

"Well?" Axel asked, intrigued.

Demyx brought a large blue shield out of the portal. "Man this thing is cold! It's like a giant ice cube!"

"Don't let Axel hold it," Xigbar laughed.

"Ha!" Axel laughed; you could practically hear the sarcasm in the laugh. "And you, Xigbar, own me fifty bucks."

Xigbar swore under his breath, reluctantly handing Axel the money.

"So, what went down?" Lexeaus wondered.

Demyx whipped out his sitar and hummed a haiku he seemed to make up on the spot.

"_Vexen was no match_

_His ice was taken away_

_By the heat of song."_

"If we can get Xaldin's spears, then they won't be able to bother us," Demyx said.

"Nice poem," Axel complimented.

"Thanks," Demyx grinned. "Actually, I found Vexen alone, on a scouting mission. I just drenched him with water and when he tried to get out his shield, he froze himself." He laughed and began to hum again.

"_The loss of the moon_

_His power was overwhelmed_

_By the Savage Nymph."_

"Okay, that's getting annoying!" Larxene hissed.

"But he's pretty good at it," Xigbar said, nodding.

"Man, Demyx, you are so weird," Marluxia said.

"Hey!" Demyx whined.

Axel rolled his eyes and turned to the huge monitors in the castle, looking intently into them.

"I say we all pummel Xaldin," Larxene said, leaning back in her chair. "Each of us takes a spear."

"He's only got six. There are seven of us," Lexeaus reminded her (wow, even when I'm not trying, the number seven pops up in ALL of my stories!).

"Then we fight over who gets the sixth one," Larxene decided. She cackled.

"None of us are going to get Xaldin's spears," Axel suddenly said from the other side of the large room.

"Then who are we going to send?" Demyx asked.

Axel grinned, though no one could see it with his back turned to them. He was watching the screen, where a picture of Sora running could be seen. In both his hands were the Key of Destiny's Keyblades—Oathkeeper and Oblivion. The monitor beside it showed a stimulation of Roxas running in the exact same manner.

"We send the key," Axel said. "Why risk any of _us_ when Roxas can obviously do the job?"

"Why risk _Roxas_ knowing he's the only one who can open the door to Kingdom Hearts?" Marluxia responded sharply.

"What I was saying is this," Axel said. "Larxene almost got pummeled by Saïx. Xaldin is more powerful than Saïx and Vexen. Who knows what would happen if any of us went?"

"Send me," Xigbar suggested. "I _was_ Number II, after all."

"No, we send someone we're one-hundred percent positive will get the job done." Axel smirked and added, "Got it memorized?" He laughed, ready to enjoy in inevitable fight.

* * *

"Where's Axel when you need him?" Zexion muttered as they tried to thaw out the frozen Vexen. When he didn't come back, they went out to search for him, only to find him frozen and without his shield. They were on Hollow Bastion.

"Don't mention that traitor's name," Xemnas growled.

"Touchy subject Superior?" Zexion asked, smirking under his hood.

Before Xemnas could answer, Saïx strode up, carrying a large plank of wood from the rebuilding town. He held it with ease, like he did with his claymore. But his hands shook as he swung the heavy piece of wood, striking Vexen with force enough to cause the ice freezing him to shatter.

Vexen gasped and immediately spread his arms, repelling all ice from him. He collapsed to the ground, coughing. He then looked around for his shield, like it was his security blanket.

"What happened?" he asked angrily, not looking up.

"You tell us," Xaldin said. "We found you frozen."

Vexen was silent for a moment before he shouted, "_Demyx!_" to no one in particular.

"I'm guessing it's all that nitwit's fault?" Saïx asked, crossing his arms.

Vexen said nothing.

"Number IV, are you alright?" Xemnas asked, accidentally using their old Organization numbers.

Frost and snowflakes surrounded Vexen's left arm as the air grew unnaturally chilly. Vexen glared as a new shield formed on his arm, but different than his last one. It had the same shape, but more spikes along the sides. On the bottom point, instead of just a point, was a harpoon-like dagger.

Saïx's eyes widened. "Vexen, calm down…"

"No!" Vexen yelled. "I'm sick of betrayals! I'm sick of lies! Most of all, I'm sick of losing." He took a step forward. "No more Mr. Nice Vexen."

With a black cloud of darkness, he vanished.

"Vexen!" Xemnas tried to call him back, but to no avail.

"You!" a voice shouted.

Xemnas visibly started and looked to his right. He glared as he saw the brunette boy running up to them.

"So, Sora, we meet again," he said formally. He grinned.

Sora's eyes widened, and he got into a defensive stance. "What are _you_ doing on Hollow Bastion?! The town's defense system should've gotten rid of you!"

"Oh, you mean these things?" Saïx asked, pointing to his feet. All around them, those small orbs of light were popping up, but they only shattered harmlessly against their feet. They were too strong.

Sora closed his eyes and relaxed. "I don't have time for you," he ground out. He took a step back and groaned.

"Something wrong?" Zexion snickered.

"Nothing you'd care about," Sora responded bitterly, looking up.

"You're correct," Saïx said. "Unless you'd open the door to Kingdom Hearts for us."

"No way," Sora shot back. "Like I'd ask you _Nobodies_ for a favor." He instantly clamped his hand over his mouth.

"A favor, you say?" Xaldin asked, curious. "Trying to get to the World That Never Was, eh?"

Sora gaped. "H-How—?"

"We're not stupid," was the answer.

* * *

"They're just _talking_!" Larxene hissed, turning to Axel, who was watching the screen intently. His eyes would move around the screen, taking in every detail of the surrounding. "How is he supposed to get Xaldin's weapons if they just _talk_?"

"Yeah, Axel," Lexeaus said, crossing his arms.

"Maybe a little…incentive," Axel murmured. He turned to Marluxia. "Someone to help. I say we test out your Nobodies."

Marluxia nodded, and snapped his fingers, all the while the bored look never leaving his face.

* * *

Sora gasped and stumbled back as he felt a sharp blade cut across the skin of his back. He turned around to see a pink blade hovering menacingly in front of his face—and he knew who these creatures were modeled after.

The Nobodies were a good foot taller than even any of the five Organization members behind him. They looked vaguely like miniature versions of the huge Nobody he had fought in the Castle Oblivion—the one with two identical pink scythes for hands, and controlled by Marluxia. These new Nobodies didn't seem too different.

"I knew it!" Xaldin accused, his spears hovering around him as he stepped menacingly towards Sora. "The brat is with Axel's posse!"

"I say we lop off his head!" Saïx said cheerfully (or as cheerfully as he could sound), brandishing a saw he also gained from the construction zones.

"I think that Nobody has that under control," Zexion said quietly, pointing behind Sora.

Just as Sora felt the blade on the back of his neck, time seemed to freeze. He felt the blade on his skin; it didn't feel like metal, but something he couldn't explain. It felt like icy-cold skin, but still sharpened to a point. While time was still frozen, he twisted around and smacked the Nobody with Oblivion, sending the creature barreling back into its buddies.

Sora reached behind his head and felt that the blade had dug into his skin somewhat, leaving a bleeding gash on his neck. He took a step away from the four Nobodies as they picked themselves up. One of them shoved the Nobody that had tried to chop of Sora's head away from them.

Unknown to anyone, one small Nobody crept up, unseen. It was a small Creeper. It walked up slowly behind Xaldin, and touched a foot to one of his spears. Then, the Nobody vanished, taking the weapon with it.

"What the—" Xaldin whirled around noting the loss of his lance. "Get the Creepers, Saïx!"

"With _what_?"

"Use the saw!"

More Creepers appeared, and Saïx tried to smash them into nothingness. Sora noted it looked like a demented game of Whack-A-Mole, with a saw. He half expected the usually calm Xemnas to magically find a chainsaw and start chopping up the Nobodies.

He didn't. In fact, he didn't see Xemnas at all. As he felt a flurry of movement to his side, he turned to see a black cloak billowing as a figure jogged down the stairs.

Were his eyes deceiving him? Xemnas had just run away from a fight.

* * *

_Es yo y vosotros contra el mundo!_

That's my new life philosiphy. LOOK IT UP ON GOOGLE TRANSLATE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS!


	5. Betwixt

**Unnumbered Files**

* * *

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts© or SquareEnix©**

* * *

**Chapter V: Betwixt**

Sora had expected the former leader of Organization XIII to stick around to get revenge—but he was wrong. He watched the silver-haired Nobody flee down a flight of stairs and jump onto a roof to watch the fight from a safe distance.

He was whapped in the back by one of the pink-bladed Nobodies. He spun around swiftly, grinning as the Nobody vanished in a cloud of black dust as it met his Keyblade.

"Lissome, meet Oathkeeper," he muttered. Then, he stopped, wondering where the name had come from. The Lissome Nobodies? It sure fit them, the way they moved rivaling that of the lithe Dusks.

More Creepers appeared, some meeting the saw Saïx still brandished. One dropped onto Xaldin's head and held onto his hair. He whirled around, trying to bat it off his head, but it jumped onto one of his spears and vanished with it.

"Grrr…" Xaldin growled. With a huge gust of wind that came from the north, he yelled, "_Enough_!"

All the Nobodies flew outwards, where they were all pierced by Xaldin's four remaining spears. The Whirlwind Lancer stood there, glaring back and forth, expecting another attack.

He was completely unprepared for a larger-than-the-usual new Lissome Nobody tackling him from behind, a grey portal opening and closing, taking the Lissome and Xaldin with it.

"Wait!" Saïx yelled, trying to reach into the portal to rescue Xaldin, but to no avail. With an angry flush on his face, he turned to Sora. "So, what else do you want to take from us now? First our hearts, then our whole _Organization_, now Xaldin. _Now what_?" He got so close to Sora that the Keyblade master had to take a step back.

"What do you mean, I'm the reason you lost your hearts?" Sora demanded angrily. "You mean by blocking the door to Kingdom Hearts?"

"Long before that," Vexen corrected him. "I was Even. Xemnas was Xehanort."

Sora finally understood. He brandished Oblivion and held it at arm's length, touching the tip of it to the Luna Diviner's neck. "That wasn't my fault. You brought it on yourselves by messing with the Heartless."

Saïx glared back with such menace that Sora swallowed nervously. "It was the fault of Ansem the Wise, and we all know you are affiliated with him."

"_Was_," Sora hissed. "Not anymore."

"Ah, yes, the old hag went and got himself blown up trying to do the same to Kingdom Hearts," Saïx said thoughtfully as Xemnas and Zexion came up behind him.

"You connect me with him just because he found Roxas and wanted to bring my memory back," Sora accused, swinging Oblivion back down to his side. "Before that, I didn't know him!"

"Ah, yes, Number XIII," Xemnas mused. "A fine member. The second we gave him the freedom to go on a mission alone, he betrayed us and got himself captured by Riku and Ansem."

"Hey," Sora said, but this time, he could hear Roxas's voice beneath his own. "It was your fault for being so trusting, _Superior_."

Xemnas blinked in surprise. "Well, I wasn't all too entirely sure Roxas still existed. I guess he does. You can't get rid of such a powerful Nobody that easily."

"We couldn't," Sora pointed out softly. He spoke even softer when saying, "And I don't think I wanted to."

"Clingy," Zexion sing-songed in a voice not like his own. "You're the only person to ever exist while his Nobody is still running around."

"Your point?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Saïx muttered. "_Neither_ of you were supposed to exist. You shouldn't even exist now."

"So, I'm a Nobody?" Sora asked, straightening out of his defensive stance.

"No," Zexion said. "You're something in between. You weren't mean to exist, but you still do."

"That's a Nobody," Sora said in an exasperated voice.

"No, not in this sense. Roxas is a Nobody. You're like a Nobody with a heart. A _Betwixt_."

"A…Betwixt?" Sora echoed.

"A Nobody with a heart," Zexion explained, uncharacteristically beating his chest with a fist where his heart would be upon saying the word 'heart', causing his voice to lurch a bit.

"The only one," Xemnas mumbled. "The Key to Kingdom Hearts."

* * *

"You _spent_ a long time in the Darkness, Riku," Mickey explained to Riku. "But Sora, despite his ties to the Light, was _born_ in the Betwixt and Between."

"So, Sora is one of these…these _Betwixt_ things," Riku said, using air quotes to emphasize 'Betwixt'. "Is he dangerous, like the Nobodies?"

There was a harsh smacking sound. "Riku! How could you say that about Sora?"

"Kairi, King Mickey _just_ told us about this," Riku protested, rubbing his cheek. "Is there any reason you didn't tell us sooner, Your Majesty?"

"Yes," Mickey said. "I think they're going to try to use Sora—and Roxas—to open the Door to Kingdom Hearts. As the only Betwixt, Kingdom Hearts only opens to him—a Nobody with a pure heart."

"We need to help him!" Riku concluded, flaunting Way To Dawn.

* * *

"He didn't even know what he was?" Lexeaus's incredulous voice sounded.

"Apparently not," Axel said, crossing his arms. "Of course, we all considered him smarter than he apparently really is."

"What do you think we should do," Demyx sneered, aiming the question behind him, "Xaldin?"

In a small alcove in the wall behind them was Xaldin. He sat on the floor, with his head down. The alcove was sealed off with a magical barrier.

He didn't answer, or look up.

"Ya know," Demyx continued, bounding over to the barrier. "In some countries it's rude to ignore your host."

No answer.

"Give it up," Larxene said, waving her hand. "He was never much of a talker anyway."

"I hope you all rot," Xaldin's quiet voice murmured.

"It speaks!" Marluxia laughed.

"That depends, Xaldin," Axel told him, leaning over to the barrier to where his nose was almost touching it. "Depends on if this all ends how I hope, which I highly doubt it won't."

Suddenly, a blue streak flew from behind Xaldin, embedding itself in the solid barrier. It was his spear. It pierced through the barrier a bit, just enough to reach through and barely touch Axel's nose. The pyro didn't flinch.

"If that didn't work on me once, what makes you think that'll shake me up this time?" Axel said.

Xaldin didn't move.

"Why the heck did you let him keep his spears?" Xigbar reprimanded.

Axel smirked. "Let him play with his toys. I think he deserves to get his heart back as much as we do." Xaldin's head shot up to look at Axel with a disbelieving look. "He just has to see it our way."

Axel looked to the ceiling and brought out his chakrams. "I'll get Sora."

* * *

Axel strode into his room, noting how dark it was without much power to light it up. A ball of flame appeared in front of his outstretched hand, and floated to the center of the room and remained there.

He looked around. The orb of flame seemed to light up the areas of the room that his eyes moved to. He walked over to a desk to find the item he had come for.

It was the last mortal possession he owned from before he became Axel, number VIII in the Organization, the Flurry of Dancing Flames. If Xemnas had found he still had it, Axel would be dead before he could say, "Got it memorized?". He picked the item up, handling it with reverence.

It was a pair of goggles. Nothing fancy about them, just an ordinary pair of goggles, like ones a pilot would wear, the two eyepieces separated by a small piece of metal, like on eyeglasses.

He picked up a wooden box—a small one—and put the goggles into it. He put the box into a pouch attached to his belt, and strode out of the room. The flame flickered out of existence.

* * *

"Of course I'm the Key," Sora said. "I'm the Keyblade master."

"Well, why were you picked?" Saïx asked. "Why were any of the Keyblade masters in the past picked?"

"They were Nobodies with hearts?" Sora guessed.

"Correct," Zexion said. "They were Nobodies who managed to hold onto their hearts, giving them amazing power, with a conscious to use it for good."

Xemnas scoffed. "Then obviously Axel has miscalculated. Regaining their hearts will only turn them into all into Betwixts. They will still not have their old identities back. No Nobody can truly become whole again."

Sora had begun taking indiscernible steps backwards as Xemnas ranted on about 'the heart' and 'the power of the heart' and 'Kingdom Hearts' and 'how I'm going to kill Axel'. He finally turned to run away, when he crashed right into a firm chest.

"Where do you think you're going, _Roxas_?" an all-too-familiar voice said.

Sora backed up and turned around to see Axel standing there, a smug look on his face. His arms were crossed, with his chakrams in both hands. His outfit was different than what he remembered. It wasn't the emo-black coat of the old Organization. No, this outfit was a form-fitting, shirt and pants outfit. It was red, with lighter-red designs on it. He could see an odd design on Axel's chest as the red-head put his arms at his sides—it looked like the symbol found on all the Heartless, mixed with the symbol on the head of a Dusk.

"What are you doing here?" Sora was surprised to hear Xemnas ask the question before he could.

"Just visiting with old friends, _Xehanort_," Axel sneered. "So, Roxas, I guess you didn't know Sora was a Betwixt. You heard about them when you were with the Organization, I guess Xemnas didn't give you the memo that we found the only one."

Sora swung out at him with his Keyblades, but Axel merely took a lengthy step back. "Stop talking to me like I'm Roxas!" Sora yelled.

"Oh!" Axel's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward; with his height, he was now close to Sora. He then leaned back and laughed. "I didn't recognize you, Sora! What with Oathkeeper and Oblivion, now. Aww. Roxas lend them to you?"

"Where's the Kingdom Key?" Sora demanded, for at the time, he had almost forgot he had had the Keyblade stolen from him.

"In the Castle That Never Was, though I admit that giant key gave us a lot of trouble," Axel said.

Behind Sora, he could hear one of the Nobodies snicker.

"Cram it, emo boy," Axel growled.

Sora snickered.

"C'mon, _Roxy_," Axel said, turning to him. Sora's fist clenched of its own will and he glared with such menace that he expected a hole to burn into Axel's skull. "Don't you wanna help your old friends out?"

"You're no friend of mine!" Sora yelled, swinging at him again, but Axel just ducked.

"I wasn't talking to you, Sora," Axel said softly. "I was talking to Roxas."

Suddenly, everything went dark on Sora's part. Again. He groaned.

"C'mon, Roxas. We won't bother you if you just _open the door_."

"Why should I?"

"'Cause you're my buddy," was the answer.

"That was…a long time ago."

"Not too long."

"Still. Over a year ago."

"Really? A year? Time usually flies when you're a Nobody."

"Then how could I exactly measure the time?"

"You're not a Nobody."

Suddenly, Sora's sight came backAxel was nowhere in sight, and apparently Xemnas and his lackeys had vanished, too.

"Think about it, Sora," a voice said from behind him.

Sora spun around and struck at the being behind him with Oblivion, and that being was Axel. The Nobody flew back and slammed into a wall. The red haired man groaned and stood up, placing a hand on the cracked wall behind him.

Leathery hands—actually, they felt like tentacles—wrapped around Sora's chest and pulled him back. "C'mon, Sora!" Axel shouted. He sounded angry. "I helped you fight off those Nobodies that one time—I even sacrificed myself—and even I fought off Xemnas and those morons for you…what else do you want?"

Sora blinked. "Fought off Xemnas? How do I know he didn't just run?"

"_Please_! You seriously think Xemnas would run? From _you_?"

Sora felt his anger rising. "You saying I'm not tough?"

"You are. Xemnas doesn't think so."

Sora just glared, and chose to look at his feet. Suddenly, something light blue entered his field of vision as Axel held something just under his nose.

"What's this?" Sora asked.

"A peace offering," Axel said simply.

Sora took the ice cream bar from Axel, and the Nobody abruptly vanished, along with the Dusks holding him. He eyes the salty sweet ice cream bar with apprehension. Then, hesitantly, he took a small bite out of it.

He coughed a bit. "Donald was right! This ice cream is salty!" He continued to eat it nonetheless.

* * *

Please excuse the quality of this chapter.

I'm trying to hide from writer's block; it's sent assassins after me. NO, not Assassin Nobodies.


	6. It's My Story

**Unnumbered Files**

* * *

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts© or SquareEnix©**

* * *

**Chapter VI: It's My Story**

"So…" Larxene said slowly.

"So…" Axel said, nodding.

"So what was that about?" Larxene asked. "The ice cream?"

"There's no reason for him to hate me except I'm a Nobody," Axel said. "I betrayed the Organization, I eliminated Vexen, I was best friends with Roxas, I fought those Nobodies, and I sacrificed myself, all to get on Sora's good side. Besides, no one else would be Roxas's friend."

"We're Nobodies," Marluxia growled. "We don't need friends."

"C'mon, we're all buddies, right?" Axel asked, grinning. He walked over to Demyx and put an arm around his shoulder. "We're friends, right Demyx?"

"Yup!" the Melodious Nocturne said cheerfully.

"See?" Axel said. "We're all friends. But just to get on Sora's good side wasn't the only reason I was Roxas's friend. I knew he was going to be the first to betray the Organization."

"Uh…why?" Lexeaus asked.

"Are you serious?" Axel shook his head and chuckled. "Don't you want to get into Kingdom Hearts? Have it accept us? Have it return our hearts?"

"Yeah…" everyone agreed.

"Well stop torturing the boy," Axel told them. "It's not going to inspire him enough to open the Door."

"Inspire?" Demyx asked hesitantly.

"He's just opening the door, not painting it, you moron," Marluxia said.

"Inspiration, motivation…my words always get mixed up."

"**AXEL**!"

Axel smirked and looked over to his right, where a tall man stood with a blue shield.

"'Bout time you got here, Vexy," Axel chuckled.

* * *

"It's your call, Superior," Zexion said slowly. "What should we do?"

"Where'd Vexen go?" Xemnas asked.

"Probably to go kill Axel," Saïx reasoned, putting a hand on his chin. "Guy's always had it rough."

"No one really liked him," Zexion added.

"He was a valuable member of Organization XIII," Xemnas corrected.

"Yeah," Saïx agreed.

* * *

Sora decided to just walk around Radiant Gardens, looking around. The place, for the most part, had been completely rebuilt during the last year. Though there were still a few Heartless, the new and improved defense system always obliterated them. He only had to destroy a few Heartless, and he eyed the hearts that floated up and away with trepidation.

He saw none of Cloud, Yuffie, Tifa, or Cid; they had, as Merlin relayed to him, gone to 'another place in need of their talents'.

He wandered to the huge castle that Ansem the Wise once called his own. A little blue creature crawled over the walls, and Sora tensed; he knew the defense system couldn't get to Heartless too far from the ground. Then he relaxed, realizing who it was.

"Hey, Stitch," Sora called, waving.

Stitch saw him and tackled him, licking him on the face. Sora sputtered and picked the heavy alien up, setting him down on his two feet.

"Do you know where Cloud went?" Sora asked. Stitch shook his head. "Do you remember _when_ they left?"

Stitch was silent for a moment, before counting up on his fingers. He held four of his fingers out (which was one hand).

"Four days ago?" Sora asked, dismayed he had missed them.

Stitch shook his head.

"Months?" Sora asked again. And this time, Stitch nodded.

"Man," Sora muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, Stitch, wanna help me? I need to stop some Nobodies."

Stitch nodded vigorously, grinning his maniac was. Sora smiled, and motioned for the blue alien to follow him to the gummi ship.

* * *

"You've always ruined my life, you stupid pyromaniac!" Vexen yelled. "Ever since I first met you!" But no matter what insults he threw at Axel (and the others gathered behind him), nothing was said to him in return.

"Oh?" Axel asked thoughtfully. He grinned. "How have I ruined your life?"

"You _killed_ me!"

"That's not a valid argument. You're here, and you're very much alive, right?" As Axel spoke, Marluxia shuffled on his feet nervously.

"I—" Vexen started, but he stopped. Just like that, his anger ebbed away. He wondered if this was how Xemnas felt; having most of his Organization betray him, and losing his powers just because he lost his anger. He just felt confused.

"Xemnas was my _Superior_," Vexen said. "He had all of our interests in his mind."

"I won't doubt that, but his plan failed miserably, and that's because he tried to force Sora into doing what he wanted," Axel said. "He's a kid. Get on his good side and maybe he'll help us. _All_ of us."

"Why should we be nice to the twerp?" Larxene asked. "He killed most of us. And he seems only intent on keeping the power of the Keyblade to himself."

"I lent Sora my power, after I sacrificed myself to protect him," Axel said randomly. "It's not often a Keychain is made in your fashion and when I found the Bond of Flame Keychain, I knew it was special. I found it when I was—" Here he paused, as if he were going to say something, but thought better of it. "—a normal person, before I lost my heart. Right when I found it, I was swarmed with Heartless."

"Who _were_ you before you became a Nobody?" Marluxia asked. "We found you, and you were calling yourself Axel. We didn't have to give you a name. So who were you?"

"No one of importance anymore."

"Then what makes you think you're of importance now?" Vexen demanded. "All of a sudden, you think you're _worthy_ to betray Xemnas and begin your own organization? What makes you think you're important _now_?"

"I never said I was important," Axel said smugly. "So, Vexen. You want your heart back as much as we do. Do you want to join us?"

Demyx's eyes widened. "But, Axel, what if he acts as a spy?"

"What could he tell Xemnas that he doesn't already know?" a gruff voice said.

Vexen was the only one who turned his head to a person standing in the back of the group. He hadn't notice him before. He was wearing Axel's style of clothing, only his was violet with black designs. His hood was up, and he finally took it down.

Vexen's eyes widened.

"You know what they say," Xaldin said, grinning in his own way. "If you can't beat them, join them."

"X-Xaldin?" Vexen said in disbelief. "W-Why? You were Number III!!!"

"Yeah. Did the Superior treat me as my position always dictated? NO! I might as well have been number XIII, he treated me so lowly."

"So what's it gonna be, Vexy?" Demyx asked, in a tone so mockingly similar to Axel's that it scared the Chilly Academic. "Wanna join us?"

Now Vexen was really confused. He looked at Xaldin, then to his feet. "I don't know anymore…"

There was a clanging sound as something blue slid into his vision. His green eyes widened as he realized what it was—his shield. Axel put a foot on it and leaned toward Vexen, saying, "So, what?"

"I just want my old life back, before I met Xemnas," Vexen muttered. "But I still don't want to betray him. I'm not the kind to betray anyone."

"That's the truth," Larxene said. "Stubborn, stubborn _Even_."

"What?" Vexen asked. "What did you call me?"

"Your original name, old man," Xigbar laughed. "Even."

"I had forgotten," Vexen said.

"Well, duh, you spent a long time slaving under Xemnas," Lexeaus said. "Under the name Vexen."

"Xemnas made something different out of me," Vexen said, clenching his fist. He held up his arm, and in a cloud of frost and snowflakes, his shield vanished from the ground and appeared on his arm. Axel grinned. "It's time to make my own identity."

* * *

Yup. Vexen betrayed Xemnas.

Good thing, too. I think Axel would've killed him again if he hadn't.

**Can ANYONE tell me if Sora's ever met, confronted, or seen Zexion before?**

Oh, and another funny note! I was looking over the US Constitution in history class. Look at it if you get the change. I noticed how some of the amendments correspond, sort of, to the Organization member of the same number. Example: The second amendment grants the right to bear arms. Xigbar is number II, and his weapons are guns. Take a look, next time. ;)

**XIGBAR SUPPORTS YOUR RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS!!!**


	7. I Remember

**Unnumbered Files**

* * *

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts© or SquareEnix©**

* * *

**Chapter VII: I Remember**

"How many times," Xemnas said, extending both arms, his laser-like swords appearing in his hands, "must I be betrayed?!? First Xaldin, now Vexen!"

"Superior, they were the weak-minded," Saïx said. "We would never betray you; not like those cretins did."

Zexion nodded. "Your power is back, Superior. We can now storm the Castle That Never Was and take back the Organization, or die trying."

"Cretins, are we?" a voice said, echoing.

Nine clouds of darkness flew up from the ground, and Axel appeared, followed by the others. Vexen and Xaldin were close behind him, glaring.

"That's a bit mellow, even for you, Xemnas," Axel said, smirking.

"You traitors!" Xemnas accused, pointing at Xaldin and Vexen. "Y-You're all traitors!"

"I believe we already know that," Xaldin muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Vexen said nothing. He noted how Zexion stood behind the Superior, and he sneered. Always the loyal one, Zexion was. Vexen's eyebrow rose as he noticed Zexion whisper something to Xemnas, take a step back, and vanish into a corridor of darkness. Vexen looked to Axel, and Axel merely nodded, proving he had seen Zexion leave, too.

"Sora's in danger," Axel whispered, so low even Vexen had a hard time hearing him.

* * *

"_Freeze_!" Sora yelled, jumping into the Castle That Never Was. He had entered from the most optimistic place in the galaxy, the Brink of Despair, only to find that it was empty. No Nobodies, no apparently former Organization members, nothing. Silence.

Stitch sniffed around, and lowered his four arms, where each hand had a small laser gun in it. He looked around, confused.

"They're probably up further," Sora said. He started walking, and Stitch followed silently.

Contrary to what Sora said, there was nothing up further. The ride up the Crooked Ascension went unbothered, and he made it all the way up to the Alter of Naught, and then back again to the entrance to the Crooked Ascension, where there was a tunnel.

The whole castle was dead empty.

Sora sank down next to a wall, muttering, "Now what?"

Stitch looked at him, then to the opposite wall. He scuttled over to it, and crawled up it. He jabbed his claws through the metal, and ripped a hole in the metal as easily as if it were paper.

"Sora!" Stitch called (though he pronounced it 'So-wah'). "Sora!"

Sora looked up and jumped to his feet, running to the hole that Stitch was now enlarging. Darkness seemed to reach out to try to take the light, but Sora could see a small pinpoint of light further in. He ran to it.

It was a tunnel. All he could hear was the low clanking of his feet on the metal, and the stead pit-pat of Stitch's claws and feet on the walls as he climbed in after Sora.

They reached a huge metal room, bigger than any Sora had ever seen. The room directly faced Kingdom Hearts, and Sora felt himself shiver under the heart-shaped moon's gaze. The room had computer monitors completely lining one wall. They flashed with unfamiliar symbols.

_No wonder they were always able to find me!_ Sora thought.

He looked over all the screens. One was focused on the Pride Lands; he recognized it as the magical spot where the Gummi Ship would always land, in the Elephant Graveyard. There were two screens next to it showing the Stone Hollow and the Oasis.

The other screens showed each and every one of these areas, even the Captain's room on the Black Pearl. The Organization always had someone in this room, following his every move.

Stitch watched apprehensively as Sora brandished Oathkeeper and Oblivion, ready to destroy the computers so the Organization could never find him.

"Always the one to destroy, aren't you, Roxas?" a menacing voice said.

Sora started, and turned around to see a man he had never seen before. He was a bit shorter than the other members of the Organization, but he _was_ wearing the Organization jacket. His hair was a bluish-grey, and his bangs completely covered one eye on the right side of his face. He had his arms crossed, and the slightest bit of an angry look on his face, though he seemed expertly trained at hiding it when people seemed to notice.

"W-Who are you?" Sora asked.

"Oh, my. It seems I have forgotten my manners," the man said. He glared menacingly, but then gave a formal bow, making the move as insulting as he could. He smiled evilly. "My name is Ienzo. Call me by my proper name. Zexion, former number VI in Organization XIII, the Cloaked Schemer."

"Uhh, okay…Zexion," Sora said uncertainly. He didn't want to tell this man anything, but Zexion scared him. He seemed so controlled and calm, while underneath Sora guessed he was so teeming with anger that anything Sora did would probably push him over the edge.

"I'm sorry, do I…do I _scare_ you?" Zexion said, stepping forward, making the tone in his voice kind, but as mocking as possible. "As it should be."

Sora took a step back and held out Oblivion to Zexion's face. "Don't move," he hissed.

"I see Roxas still lives," Zexion murmured softly, eyeing the Keyblade. "Too bad. That means there's two of you I need to kill."

Sora started. "K-Kill me?"

"Are you stupid?" Zexion asked, unknowingly quoting Larxene. "Yes, kill you." He paused, and his eyes widened in realization. "Oh, you don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?"

"Does 'Castle Oblivion' ring any bells?" Zexion said, leaning forward ever so slightly. Sora shook his head. "Marluxia? Larxene? Vexen? Axel?"

"I know Axel," Sora said in a small voice. "Who are the other people?"

Zexion laughed. "So it _is_ true."

"What's true?!" Sora yelled, charging forward. Swiping Oblivion out, Sora's eyes widened as the blade went clean through Zexion. The man just stood there and smiled.

"C'mon, Roxas, I thought you were better than that," a voice from behind said.

Sora turned around to see Zexion standing there. The man grinned.

"It is true that you lost your memory," Zexion murmured.

"Lost my memory? How?"

"Naminé," Zexion said simply.

"Naminé? She's a friend, she wouldn't hurt me!"

Zexion did not reply. Instead, he stepped up to Sora, standing three feet from him. "Memories cannot be erased. It is impossible. No, what Naminé did after restoring your true memory was herd the memories of the events in Castle Oblivion into a deep realm of your mind, closing the door."

Zexion held up a hand and pressed it to Sora's brow, closing his eyes tightly and concentrating.

Memories of old flooded into Sora's awareness. He saw a woman with yellow blonde hair, with an antenna-like fashion in them, sneering at him while holding his friend Riku by the throat—though the memory told him it wasn't the real Riku. A man with bright red hair—Axel—smirked at him. In front of what he recognized as the old abandoned mansion in Twilight Town, he faced off against a man with long, blond hair. His name was never mentioned to him, but he had been murdered by Axel—he remembered, now, the fear.

_Vexen_, Zexion's mind muttered. Sora wondered why he was doing this for him.

So Axel could murder in cold blood. Sora would have to remember that. There lingered a memory of a man with disgustingly pink hair, and a smirk on his face that put Axel's to shame. He wielded a giant pink scythe, resting it on his shoulder. And then there was—

"Hey!" a voice shouted. Zexion's hand tensed up. "Leave him alone!"

Zexion took a step back from Sora to turn around, only to be hit in the spine by a sharp, red chakram. He uttered one cry and fell to his knees, trying to reach a hand back to cover the wound.

Sora, startled, looked up to see Axel, standing there with a menacing look on his face. He was spinning his other chakram in his left hand.

"Vexen didn't deserve it," Axel murmured. "However, you did."

Someone moved Sora out of the way as he saw a man with pink hair—Marluxia—and the Organization member named Demyx grab one of Zexion's arms each, and lift him up.

Zexion weakly smirked up at Axel, his eyes dimming. "Try to sympathize with him _now_, Axel." With that, his body fell limp in his captor's arms.

"Is he…dead?" Demyx asked.

"No, he's just unconscious," Axel assured him. "If he were dead, he would've vanished into oblivion by now." He waved a hand. "Take him to the Addled Impasse. Try to break him."

Then, Luxord's eyes suddenly widened and he shouted, "Sora!"

Axel quickly turned to see Sora run through the hole that was, for some reason, torn into the side of a wall. He could see a little blue creature dangling from Sora's arms.

"Sora!" he called after the brunette. "Wait!"

Without a backwards glance, Axel ran after him.

* * *

Sora skidded out of the hole in the metal and turned to his right, ready to run out of the castle. A voice called, "Sora! Wait!"

He ignored it, but Stitch tugged at his sleeve and pointed behind him.

"_Please_!" the voice called.

Sora stopped. Panting from the short run and from adrenaline rush, he turned around to see Axel running to him. He tensed, holding out his Keyblades.

"You forgot this," Axel said simply. He held out an arm, and a bright light flashed, forming a solid object which Axel abruptly dropped on the ground, leaving a resounding ring.

The Kingdom Key lay at Sora's feet.

Sora's breath caught and he lifted up the Keyblade. It seemed renewed. The dirt and grime that had accumulated on it ever since he got it was gone, revitalizing the blade and the gold that made up the hilt.

"Why did you do this?" Sora muttered suspiciously, not looking up.

"I can't use the thing," Axel said, smirking. "I think you'd make better use of it."

"But you _stole_ it."

"And now I'm giving it back," Axel said. "You're welcome."

Sora looked at him apprehensively. "Why?"

Axel looked aggravated. "I already told you. I can't use—"

"Why are you helping me?" Sora shook his head. "Because you need me, right? I'm nothing more than a tool to you."

"That's not it," Axel said. "Not at all. You beat Xemnas. I have to pay you back somehow." He pointed at the Keyblade. "We even now?"

"No, I paid you back for risking your life to get me to The World That Never Was," Sora pointed out. "We were even until you gave that back." He sighed. "Now I guess I have to pay you back."

Axel smiled. "You don't have to, if you don't want to. I returned that out of my own interest." He rubbed his right eye. "Gave me a black eye."

"Oh, shut it Axel," an amused voice said, and Sora was surprised to see an apparition of Roxas standing beside him.

"Hey, Roxas!" Axel said, his grin even wider.

"Hey, Sora, despite what you may think, these guys really aren't so bad," Roxas told his other, ignoring Axel. "Well, Marly is kinda…weird. Demyx may act like an idiot, sure."

"Larxene may be evil," Axel put in, realizing what Roxas was going to say, "and Lexaeus may look like he could chop your head off…"

"Xaldin may seem rude, same with Vexen…"

"Luxord always seems like he wants to cheat you out of something, and even Xigbar can be hard to get along with at times," Axel said.

"Okay, so they're all idiots," Roxas concluded, grinning. "They're really not all that bad. Don't let Xemnas lie to you. They _can_ feel. Why else would they be trying so hard to get their hearts back? Give 'em a chance."

Sora eyed both of them, then looked around to avoid their gaze. His eyes took him to look down at Stitch, who was being forced to watch the proceedings with no say.

"So-wah," Stitch said, nodding and giving his buddy a thumbs up.

* * *

Zexion groaned lightly, and opened his eyes. He heard Axel's voice echoing 'dungeon' through his mind, but this didn't look like a dungeon.

He was trapped inside a giant glass tube, with a perfect view of Kingdom Hearts. He noted the surroundings were that of Saïx's lair, the Addled Impasse. Scratches and burns in and on the metal were the only reminders of the battle between Xemnas's second-in-command and Sora.

He noted—with alarm—that he was in a different outfit than his Organization cloak. It was like the outfit Axel wore, but it was black with dark blue designs. He shuddered of the thought of his clothes being changed while he was unconscious.

He took a sniff of the air, but he could smell nothing. Zexion was never one to try to take advantage of a situation, so he just sat down and waited.

And waited…

With a flick of his fingers, a very bland looking book with the Organization symbol appeared, resting in his hands. He then proceeded to read, his original frantic breathing dying down so the whole room—well, the tube he was in—was utterly silent.

"Yeesh, do you ever _not_ read?" a slightly muffled voice asked.

"Xigbar," Zexion murmured, and continued reading without looking up.

"I heard that if you tap on a fish tank, the fish don't like it," Xigbar continued. He rapped a knuckle in the glass, causing Zexion to grit his teeth. "Looks like it's the same for people."

"Nobodies weren't originally meant to be kept in large glass tubes, Number II," Zexion said.

"And here's the part where you say 'We were never originally even supposed to exist', blah, blah, blah," Xigbar said, waving his hand idly in a circle. He looked at Zexion as if he dared the short man to challenge him.

"As if," Zexion said with a smirk, which grew as he saw Xigbar's face flush.

"Listen here, you little bookworm," Xigbar said, pointing. "Be glad you're not dead." Too bad for Xigbar, he didn't have Axel's natural arguing skills. He couldn't get any ground.

"There were times in my life I wished I _was_ dead," Zexion said. "I still accept it with open arms, but I'm as patient as always."

"You little… _Larxene_!" Xigbar called.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, don't get in a fit, _Braig_," Larxene's always-familiar voice said, and the Savage Nymph sauntered into the room with her hands on her hips. "What does shorty want now?"

Xigbar grinned. "A death wish."

Zexion's eyes widened and he stood as Larxene grinned in a fashion that reminded him of Axel. With a snap of her fingers, the air inside the glass tube became charged, and soon couldn't hold the electricity, and a powerful electric shock coursed through his body.

With a rough yell, he fell back to the floor of the tube, small flashes of electricity playing along his arms, causing them to jerk involuntarily. He glared up. Looking down, his eyes saddened a bit at the charred remains of his book, _His Lexicon_, still smoldering on the ground (A/U: _His Lexicon_ is **NOT**, I repeat—**NOT** the name of the book. We all know how Zexion loves his books; _His Lexicon_ is like a term of endearment. Don't know what that means? Get a lexicon and look it up). He slammed his fists on the side of the glass, ignoring the pain.

"Uh-oh," Xigbar said, chuckling. "Fishy's mad."

* * *

The last chapter of this will most likely be the ninth chapter. I had wanted it to be the seventh, since it's my favorite number (I wish Saïx wasn't number seven. He scares me). But it will be the ninth, which is still good. I LOVE DEMYX!

So, the next chapter will be short.


	8. Broken

**Unnumbered Files**

* * *

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts© or SquareEnix©**

* * *

**Chapter VIII: Broken**

Saïx solemnly marched alongside Xemnas through Hollow Bastion. Luckily no one was in that section of the city to see them, or they would've surely been attacked.

"What did Zexion ask?" Saïx asked Xemnas.

"He asked to go to Sora," Xemnas muttered. "He stated he had an idea that would turn Sora away from Axel, and therefore he wouldn't be _willing_ to help him."

"Superior, he left a few hours ago…" Saïx said quietly. "Zexion always gets missions done in record time, and he's a master of manipulating people. He would've been back by now."

"He probably betrayed me, too," Xemnas said remorsefully. "I'm not worried."

For some reason, that made Saïx mad. Xemnas didn't worry about Zexion's welfare? No feelings or not, Zexion had been one of Xemnas's six original 'friends' before they became nobodies. And Xemnas just seemed to throw the memory of him away like it was nothing.

Saïx's fist clenched, and his large claymore appeared in his hands. This one was different than his last one, for when he was spying on the Castle The Never Was one night, he saw a object crash through a window and tumble into the bottomless pit below. It was his claymore. The rage he felt at that moment built up enough power from the light of Kingdom Hearts to grant him a new one. The new one was red, and permanently in berserk form from his anger. It seemed to glow with a red light, while streams of darkness, like smoke, drifted off of it.

Without thinking, he lost stride, ending up behind Xemnas, and hit his Superior on the back of the head, resulting in a sickening _crack!_ It didn't break the skull, but Saïx made sure it hurt.

"What in all the known worlds did you do that for, you imbecile?" Xemnas roared, rubbing the back of his head.

Saïx had heard that insult every day of his life, though he had never heard the Superior direct it at him. Well, it's not like he didn't deserve it.

"Despite you being the most heartless person I've ever met," Saïx said calmly, "how _dare_ you just throw Zexion away like that. He was a valued member of Organization XIII. And you don't care about him?"

"I cannot feel, Number II," Xemnas said slowly, surprising Saïx. Apparently he was trying to reconcile with himself the loss of his Organization, but now that it was only him and Saïx, Saïx was Number II, now. "You know that as well as I do."

"Well, maybe you're wrong, Superior," Saïx said.

"Don't you start that with me!"

"Superior."

"That's Axel's philosophy, and I've already told you all the truth. Yet do you listen to me?"

"Superior."

"No! Instead, I've had near every member of my Organization turn their backs and scorn me for everything I am!"

"Superior~" Saïx said in a deep voice, drawing out the last note, trying to get the other's attention.

"And now Vexen and Xaldin betrayed me, Zexion's probably done the same, and—"

"_Superior_!" Saïx yelled, and Xemnas stopped ranting to look at him as the Luna Diviner took out his new claymore. "Don't make me hit you with this again."

"Hit me with it!" Xemnas threw his arms into the air. "See if I care!"

Saïx let the arm holding his weapon fall to his side. He looked to the ground, then back up, eyes wide.

This Xemnas noticed. Saïx wasn't one to show much emotion unless he was angry or had an idea. He didn't know which one is was in this case.

"I've got an idea, Superior," Saïx said, answering Xemnas's unasked question. "If Axel's so intent on getting his heart back, I say we let him." He whispered the rest of the plan to Xemnas.

* * *

Zexion cried out once more as Larxene grew bored and stopped electrocuting him. His muscles jerked of their own will, and he grit his teeth, slumping against the inside of the tube he was contained in.

This _sucked_, to put it bluntly.

"Axel's orders were to 'break' him, but so far, he doesn't seem like he's going to face the truth," he heard Xigbar comment to Larxene. "He's a lot stronger than he looks."

"Why can't we just get _Aeleus_ to break his _arm_?" Larxene whined, a leer in her voice.

"Because we don't want to _kill_ him."

Marluxia was leaning against the window in the Addled Impasse, the charred remnants of Zexion's book in his hands. He flipped through the pages, his eyes skimming over the words, taking the ones that weren't burnt off into his mind, reading at a surprisingly fast pace.

"Xemnas wasn't the only one lying to us," Marluxia murmured, catching the others' attention.

"What do you mean?" Xigbar asked, curious.

Marluxia ambled over to Zexion, showing him the open book, which was on one of the only pages that weren't damaged. Zexion didn't read it, for his eyes were closed, but he could see without his eyes and knew what Marluxia was showing him. He said nothing.

"This page illustrates the complexity of the emotions of Nobodies," Marluxia stated, showing the book to the others and shaking it to prove his point. "We _do_ have emotions. It says most Nobodies show uncertainty, happiness, fear, and sadness in different ways than those-with-hearts do." He turned to Zexion, who seemed to be asleep. "Not heartless. _Different_."

"Not heartless," Zexion murmured, and it was the Graceful Assassin's turn to be surprised, for the words coming out of Zexion's mouth were in Marluxia's voice. "Different."

He kept repeating that phrase in Marluxia's voice, until it finally faded back into his own and he quieted. Xigbar, Larxene, and Marluxia had no clue what to do.

"That was weird," Xigbar commented.

"Take him out," a voice said, and they turned to see Axel.

"Good job," the Flurry of Dancing Flames said, crossing his arms. "He and Xemnas were keeping a secret. I only needed him morally broken to reveal it. I suspected as much." He grinned in his natural way. "He's not a threat anymore. Take him out."

"And…?" Xigbar asked.

Axel waved a hand. "He's one of us now, whether he likes it or not."

* * *

I am SO sorry for not updating in a more timely fashion. My dad grounded me, and I'm pushing my luck just uploading this!!!

Okay, all I have to say is—for those of you that have Kingdom Hearts II and haven't done so—LEVEL UP ALL OF SORA'S FORMS. To level 7. All of them. The levels Sora himself gains are a lot if you're working on leveling up Final Form in The World That Never Was. Plus, if you get to level 3, then 5, the 7, Sora himself can GLIDE!

Oh, and I beat Sephiroth. It was a pretty quick battle, but WAY more intense that Xemnas. My reaction to Sephiroth's defeat?

My heartbeat doubled, maybe even tripled, I felt like I was about to pass out, I grew light-headed, and I needed a soda. XD I swear, I had a HUGE reaction. Call me obsessed, but it's the truth. I even video taped it!


	9. Meant To Live

**Chapter IX: Meant To Live**

"We're gonna get our hearts back!" Demyx shouted excitedly.

"What makes you think that?" Larxene hissed, glaring. At her right side was Zexion, who had his head bowed, silent. "Sora probably ran off."

"Oh really?" Demyx challenged. He ran out of the room.

"Hey! Let go!" a voice yelled. Demyx finally returned, dragging the Keyblade master in after him by the arm. Sora finally stopped struggling and eyed the gathered Nobodies with apprehension. "Great," he muttered. "The gang's all here."

"Xemnas and Saïx aren't," Lexaeus calmly pointed out.

"Glad Xemnas isn't here," Sora said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Who's Saïx?"

"I never introduced you?" Axel asked, walking in behind Sora. "I told you his name. Blue hair. X-shaped scar on his face. Psycho."

"Oh, right," Sora remembered, nodding. He vividly remembered the battle in the Castle That Never Was with the berserker, and the battle against the Nobodies where it was obviously Saïx who was mimicking a demented game of whack-a-mole with a saw.

Yup, definitely Saïx.

"And Xemnas better not be here," Axel grunted. He turned to Lexaeus. "If you see him, throw something at him." Lexaeus nodded.

"Can I throw Demyx at him?" Luxord piped up. Sora noticed the gambler had, as usual, he guessed, a deck of cards in his hands.

"_Hey_!" Demyx cried, indignant.

"Will all of you _shut up_?" Vexen yelled as the voices got louder.

"Yes, ma'am," Xigbar muttered, causing the Nobodies to snicker.

Sora found himself snickering along with them. These guys weren't really the evil killers he had always assumed him to be.

"Hey, Axel," Sora asked the redhead. Axel turned to him. "What happened to Yen Sid? Roxas told me you turned him into a Heartless."

"That old guy? He wasn't in the castle. We think he left before we got there." Axel frowned, and then he grinned and leaned forward. "_Thaaaaanks_, Roxas. Accusing me, as always. We weren't gonna turn him _into_ a Heartless. We were trying to get the Heartless _away_ from him."

"Seriously?" Sora said, surprised. "Why?"

"Simple," Marluxia grumbled. "We were trying to get all the Heartless back here."

"Huh?"

"Every time a Heartless is defeated without the Keyblade, it's sent back here, to the World That Never Was," Larxene explained. "We were trying to get them all back here. Same with the Nobodies."

"And why is that?" Sora accused. "Trying to control them yourselves?"

"No," Axel said, shaking his head. "To trap them here. Another act of good will. They can't get out of here. Even if they go to Betwixt and Between, that will only take them to the virtual Twilight Town, and we destroyed the computers to they can't get back to the real one. Happy?"

"Then how am I supposed to get back here?" Sora asked.

"Why would you?" Xaldin questioned, leaning forward in his chair. "We'll be gone, and we won't have any reason to return here. Neither will you."

"To look at Kingdom Hearts?" Zexion whispered, so low that no one realized it was he who spoke. Everyone turned to him to see him reading his book, which was still burnt. Light shone from the edge of one page, and it was repaired to the best of his power. "Why bother. Leave the memory behind. You can see Kingdom Hearts from Destiny Islands, anyway. You just gotta know where to look."

* * *

Sora held the Kingdom Key, the only thing echoing in his mind was if he should really help these guys. He looked back to see Axel. The red-head nodded to him, and smiled a genuine smile. Sora didn't return the gesture, and turned around.

Finally, he held up the Keyblade, a bright beam of light shooting up and out of it, into the skies. The Door to Kingdom Hearts responded immediately, opening slowly on silent hinges. Light streamed out in a thin line that gradually grew as the door opened wider.

The light seemed to only touch Axel and the others behind Sora. Each one closed their eyes and the light washed over them like a tsunami. Sora expected the light to form into an orb, like how the hearts of the Princesses did when he freed them. But, instead, he saw what looked to be ghouls fly out of the door, each one spinning around the Nobodies gathered behind him. The light shone brighter than Sora though possible, and then, it faded, the door to Kingdom Hearts slamming shut with a shuddering _boom!_

"Hm," Axel's voice said. "That's not at all what I expected."

He turned to look at Axel, and almost became upset, because he didn't think it had worked. But Sora had to double-take and proved himself wrong.

Axel looked vaguely the same. He still had the fiery red mane of hair, but it was shorter and less spiky. In the back, he had let the hair grow out long, and it was pulled back into a pony tail that extended almost to his waist. Under his eyes and towards the side of his head, instead of his diamond-shaped markings, were two red moon-shaped tattoos. He was still wearing his red-and-orange-tight-fit clothes, but Sora idly noticed a pouch attached to his belt that he never noticed before.

Axel noticed his look, and the red-head's face seemed to light up. He grabbed the pouch and took out a small, thin box. He opened it and took out a simple pair of goggles. His grin widened as he placed them on his head, bringing the thin strap behind his head, and he let out a completely unexpected cheer.

"Whoo!" he yelled. "I feel so alive!"

His cheer was drowned out by a startled scream and the sad sound of sobbing (_wow, say that five times fast_). Sora turned to see the blonde with the mullet (_he, for the life of him, could not remember ever hearing his name_) crying his eyes out. He was leaning against his sitar (_why did he still have that?)_ balancing on one foot. He was shirtless, but his pants were tight fitting and the pattern reminded Sora of fish scales; the ends of the leggings seemed to fan out to cover Demyx's feet. He was barefoot, but around each ankle was a golden band with a sapphire hanging off.

"Whoa, Demyx!" Axel said. "What's with the get-up and jewels?" Sora now noticed a similar gold band around the blonde's—wait, Demyx's—neck, with another sapphire, though larger, handing off of it on a thin gold string.

Demyx was still sobbing. "I used to be one of the mer-people of Altantica," Demyx explained. "I was one of the royal guards. I thought that, when I got my heart back, I could go back to my old life. Now I'm a _human_!!!"

"Stop whining, you baby!" a harsh voice hissed.

Sora turned to look at Larxene, and was surprised to see a drastic change from the few times he had seen her. She was wearing an outfit like Axel's, only yellow and orange, and the hood was up. But her pale skin stuck out on her like a sore thumb; her hands and what was visible of her face were a stark white. But what stood out most were her bright red eyes that seemed to pierce the darkness her hood created over her face.

"Larxene…" Demyx whined.

She just sneered at him.

"Xigbar, you know you can take off that eye patch, right?" Axel said.

"I know," Xigbar replied. He flipped up his eye patch, shook his head and put it back down. "I'm too used to being a cyclops anyway. And it's Braig now."

"Have it your way, _Figbar_."

"_Braig_!"

Sora studied Xigbar. He remembered how tough the Freeshooter was. Xigbar (_excuse me, Braig)_ had on a purple and teal outfit similar to Axel's, and his hair was jet black. The scar was still on his left cheek (probably from pestering a Heartless before his own heart was taken) and on the right side of his jaw, under his ear, was the Organization's symbol, probably from—as Mickey had told him—his days of apprenticeship under Xehanort.

_Braig_ saw him looking at the tattoo and he covered it up with a startlingly skinny hand, muttering something about tattoo removals.

"So, Xaldin, wasn't this worth switching sides?" Axel asked, turning to the former Whirlwind Lancer.

"I suppose," Xaldin's accented voice answered. "Your plan seemed to have to many flaws to work logically." Xaldin was apparently right beside Sora as he felt Xaldin nudge his shoulder. "I guess I underestimated the fact that he'd help."

Sora glared up at the man. The change in this one wasn't too drastic like the others he had seen; Xaldin's hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and black with some white in it. His black sideburns were nonexistent on his face, but as he smiled, Sora could still see the semi-sharp canine teeth.

"Well," Xaldin said, ruffling Sora's hair. "Looks like we owe ya, Sora."

Sora smacked his hand, but he found himself grinning. These guys didn't seem _too_ bad…

Marluxia still had that oddly colored pink hair, but less vibrant—more of a brownish color, and in it, was a small flower (big surprise). His eyes seemed to tear into Sora as he gazed in his direction. His pink and red outfit seemed to fit him when he was Marluxia, but this new person hardly seemed…the pink type. He had a smirk on his face, and tattoos under his eyes identical to the ones Axel used to have. He seemed to be more the kind to meaninglessly attack someone and enjoy it. Wasn't he like that even as a Nobody? Sora asked himself.

Lexeaus, which was the name of the tall guy in red and dark red, hardly changed from the one time Sora had seen him, and his memory was very sharp. His hair and face were still vaguely the same, though his hair was actually red, instead of dark red, and his face didn't seem so hardened.

"This is odd…" a small voice said. Sora turned to see Zexion, who was over by himself by the stairs. The man, despite getting his heart back, was still the shortest in the group. All in all, he didn't look too different, except for the glasses he wore on the end of his nose, thin wires wrapping around the back of his head to keep them in place. His blue-black hair covered his left eye instead of his right, but not as much now, and Sora could vaguely see the Cloaked Schemer glaring at him, his eyes hard. Then they softened, and he looked down to the book cradled in his arms.

Vexen, the tall blonde guy that gave Sora the creeps, hadn't changed much, either, from the one memory Sora had seen him in. Like Zexion, he had on a pair of glasses, but these were smaller and square-shaped.

Luxord had not changed at all. The only change the Gambler of Fate had suffered was his blonde hair becoming even more blonde; it had darkened when he became a Nobody, and now seemed almost white. He did not look at Sora; instead, he focused intently on the deck of cards in his hand, which had changed from the magical clock ones he fought with to a normal deck of playing cards. He seemed both happy and disappointed.

Sora looked to each person, awing at the changes that had taken place in them, and yet, they were still very similar. Though they had none of their Nobody's powers—

"Sora!" a voice called.

Sora turned to see Riku (wow, he's late) with Kairi and King Mickey run up to him. Kairi ran up to him, asking, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sora answered.

"And I guess we're down nine Nobodies," Mickey said, noting the unfamiliar people.

"So, does this mean we're like Sora?" Demyx asked. "Like a Betwixt? I thought there could only be one."

"No," Zexion whispered intelligently. "Sora was born a Betwixt; he was merely separated from his natural borne Nobody for a while."

"Shh!" Axel said suddenly, putting a finger to his lips. He looked around. "Did anyone else hear that?"

Sora strained to hear. A dull thud barely shook the castle floor beneath him. There was suddenly an ear-piercing screech, and a Sorcerer Nobody spiraled up the stairs, flying straight for Sora.

There was a loud popping sound and a flash of light and Axel struck the Nobody with a nightstick he seemed to whisk from nowhere. The Sorcerer screeched again and flew off, hovering in front of the door to Kingdom Hearts.

"What's his problem?" Riku asked sarcastically.

"We don't control them anymore," Axel told him. "Without masters, they act erratically."

"Without reason," Demyx added.

"Without purpose," Xigbar concluded. "Xemnas always told us that."

"What about you guys?" Sora asked, eying the Sorcerer. "You were Nobodies."

A pause. "He merely said we were different," Vexen said.

Sora held out the Keyblade and shot a beam of magic at the Nobody. He expected its form to give way and vanish, but instead it screeched one last time. It pointed one long, pulsating arm at Sora, then flew away.

"What was up with that?" Riku asked, watching over the rails as the Nobody spiraled down the side of the building.

"I don't know, but let's get out of here," Axel said, concentrating.

"You can't open portals anymore," Sora reminded him.

Axel swore softly, then looked around. He then looked to Demyx.

"Long way down?" Demyx asked, reading his look.

"Long way down," Axel agreed, nodding.

As a whole group, the former Nobodies, the Keyblade master, Riku, Kairi, and the King ran down the flight of stairs from the Altar of Naught.

* * *

Two figures slowly approached the Altar of Naught. When Xemnas controlled the Castle, lesser Nobodies would not even be allowed at such a sacrosanct place. Sometimes, one would wander up on accident, but was abruptly destroyed by the Organization's Superior.

Now, though, that was different. Two Nobodies slowly approached up the stairs—one holding a giant hammer, and the other holding its two hands. A Sorcerer and a Berserker. The Berserker held out its giant hammer, and smacked it on the ground, releasing a flash of darkness and dull, resounding ring on the metal.

The two Nobodies vanished, their forms replaced with those of Saïx and Xemnas.

"I told you the brat would be too caught up to close the door all the way," Saïx said quietly.

Xemnas just stared at the large, grey door. It was here. There. Everywhere.

Liberation from the prison cell being a Nobody is.

"Before I became a Nobody," Xemnas recalled, "I was more powerful than I am now. I always wonder what would have happened if I did not give into the darkness."

Saïx snorted softly.

"But," Xemnas said, holding his hand out to the door. The door opened towards them, light flying out, "that is behind me. The ones who shamed and humiliated me will soon face the wrath of Xehanort No Heart. The power of my Other has grown to immense proportions."

"Axel will pay for his mutiny," Saïx said, reading Xemnas's expression.

And their forms were bathed in light, which quickly turned into darkness as it wrapped around them…

* * *

-screams- FINISHED! BUT I'M NOT HAPPY WITH IT! THE ENDING SUCKED.

So sorry for the delay. I really didn't mean to.


End file.
